


if you must leave

by Kangoo



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning, Legion follow-up, M/M, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 06:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21369826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kangoo/pseuds/Kangoo
Summary: illidan left you three messages to deliver. one for his brother, one for tyrande, and one for you.you find a fourth one.
Relationships: Illidan Stormrage/Kael'thas Sunstrider
Comments: 22
Kudos: 61





	if you must leave

**Author's Note:**

> i started writing this 2 years ago and only just found it in my drafts so.... enjoy?
> 
> title from keaton henson's "you"

You have learned to appreciate Illidan as you fought at his side against the Legion; you have seen how dedicated he is, how much he sacrificed for the survival of Azeroth. Although what little you know of his story comes from secondhand accounts and rumors, you know most of this stubborn will to see this war to its end was born from his love for his brother and childhood friend. It seems like the least you can do to make sure his last words are heard by the people he holds dear.

The first message you deliver is for Tyrande, most of all because she is easier to find than the elusive Archdruid. You’re surprised she lets you listen to it with her; less so to hear the genuine affection in Illidan’s voice when he says his goodbye to her. If you cry a little, when, no one needs to know.

She doesn’t _hear_ it. She doubts his sincerity — waves off the whole matter like he’s nothing but a footnote in her life. The meeting leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

Malfurion is harder to find, but the melancholy expression when hearing his brother’s voice makes the search worth it. He, too, lets you listen to Illidan’s message; you have a hard time not fidgeting when it mentions Tyrande. You remember her reaction, and wonder if she truly deserves the trust and admiration Illidan clearly holds for her.

Once again you find yourself annoyed by the way the message is received. Malfurion’s regrets, although genuine, seem to be about what Illidan has become rather than his fate, and like Tyrande he sneers at his actions and quickly moves on to _more important matters_.

You are far from being Illidan’s friend, but suddenly you wonder if _anyone_ really is.

Unnerved and a little sad, oddly enough, you travel to Mount Hyjal as asked. The sight of the Well of Eternity steal your breath — it always does. Magic makes the air sparkle, like a thousand glitters in suspension above the water; you have traveled to the other side of the universe and yet here is the place you find the most otherworldly of all.

You sit here, on the shore of the lake, and look down at the crystal in your hands. It’s still glowing faintly in the light of the Well, not empty yet.

You have handled your share of magical artifacts in the past. Carefully, you coax a third message out of it.

Okay, this time you absolutely cry. You bawl like a baby, because you’re dumb like that. Illidan isn’t even dead, by the Light, and still the fact he entrusts you with the fate of a world he has sacrificed so much for— it’s almost too much.

Damned feelings, getting in your eyes like that.

But the crystal isn’t empty yet. It’s faint, but you can still feel the magic here. Illidan only mentioned three messages — why wouldn’t he say anything about it?

Maybe there’s no one to hear it anymore.

The thought is a painful one to say the least. Illidan has so little people dear to him he left _you_ a last message. That one of them would die—

Giving in to your curiosity, you discard the three other messages and reach for that secret fourth one.

“_I’m sorry,_” It begins with. Illidan’s voice sounds so soft, so low, like he’s in pain or close to unconsciousness, you feel like you’re intruding on something far more intimate than before. “_I’m—” _A sigh. “_Light, Kael, I’m so sorry. I have nothing to say that could make up for what I’m about to do. I swore I would come back when I left but— it’s always been my destiny to put an end to Sargeras’ crusade. I know I won’t come back from that fight.” _A pause, long enough for you to wonder if maybe that’s it. Then, even softer than before, “_Please, forgive me. I love you.” _Another pause. “_I love you.” _He sounds choked up, but the message stops before he starts crying.

Illidan never mentioned a fourth message. Maybe he didn’t want you to know about it. Maybe he was scared of what that ‘Kael’ might think of it.

But here’s the thing: he tasked you to bring the crystal to the shore of the Well of Eternity only once you’ve delivered all the messages, but there’s still one there, mentioned or not, and you’re starting to have an idea of who it’s supposed to be given to.

Seems like there’s a last stop on your journey after all.

Silvermoon is beautiful, golden and resplendent despite the dark clouds gathering in its sky. There’s a storm brewing — you can only hope to be safe from the downpour.

Lor’themar ought to be more surprised by you barging in his throne room, but he has seen you do worse things to more important people. Also, you think that maybe he never quite realized he’s supposed to be the leader of an entire people, which would explain his lack of care for things such as etiquette.

“You're back. What do you want this time?” He asks, slumping in the throne, which is the only actual seat in the room. He looks exhausted; guess the end of a war isn’t such a peaceful business.

“I’m looking for a ‘Kael’,” You say, showing him the crystal as you do. “I’m pretty there’s only one of those, and I don’t care how or why he’s there. I just want to be done with this.”

You haven’t had a break for what feels like forever, but you can’t rest until you’re done with _this_.

Lor’themar doesn’t even bother to look shocked. He sighs, so hard it makes his shoulders slump, and heaves himself out of his chair

"Rommath!" He calls. There's the sound of something breaking a few doors down the corridor, swearing, then an irate, "What?"

"Someone’s here to see him!"

Rommath immediately pokes his head into the corridor. His hair is smoking. He visibly deflates at your sight. "Oh. It's you."

(You have a pretty good idea of who he was hoping for.)

You follow him through the corridors of the palace in complete silence. It doesn’t take long for you to lose tracks of the twists and turns, the stairs you climb up and down. This place is a bit of a maze as it turns out, at odds with the clean architecture the blood elves usually prefer.

You wonder if it was built this way for aesthetic reasons, or if they’re just trying to hide what’s at its heart.

Rommath stops in front of a single door, knocks three times on it and waits a moment before pushing it open. He gives you one last unreadable look before waving you inside.

It’s a laboratory, of some sort, the kind that seems to naturally grow around mages and alchemists whenever they settle in a room for longer than a few days. There are papers scattered over every flat surface, scorch marks on the walls, runes painted on the stone floor, vials and magical ingredients in precarious piles.

And in the middle of that organized chaos stands a blood elf, dressed in simple robes with long golden hair that’s starting to escape the braid it’s tied in. He’s scribbling over a piece of parchment hovering at eye-level with one hand and holding a still-bubbling vial of something purple and sparkling in the other, muttering under his breath.

“You have a visitor.”

That distracts him from whatever he’s doing. He puts down the vial, waves the parchment away on one of the piles and tucks the quill behind his ear as he turns around. You’re not as surprised as you probably ought to be when he finally faces the two of you.

Kael’thas Sunstrider was rumored to be dead, but his body was never found, and there _are_ statues of him scattered around the city.

His face doesn’t fall when he sees you, but he can’t entirely hide his disappointment. Like whatever he was expecting was just confirmed, and he regrets being right.

“Well. Hello there.” He gestures at you to approach, face carefully neutral as he undoes his braid and rolls down his sleeves. “What do you want?”

You step closer and wordlessly hand him the crystal. He takes it gingerly. Behind you the door closes quietly as Rommath leaves the room.

He doesn’t look at you when he asks if you’ve listened to it.

“That’s how I found you, yes.”

He nods mutely. “Then I guess there’s no point in making you leave, is there.”

You want to say there absolutely is a point, but the message is already playing before you can voice that thought.

It’s interesting, in a voyeuristic kind of way, to watch Kael’thas’ face softens at the sound of Illidan’s voice, then crumbles at his words. His fingers tighten around the crystal, threatening to break it, and when Illidan’s voice fades he ducks his face down, hiding it behind the curtain of his hair.

He doesn’t say anything for what seems like a very long time.

“Thank you for bringing this to me,” he says, voice strained with the effort of keeping it level. Despite that he still sounds choked up, and it breaks halfway through his following sentence. “May I keep it?”

You nod without a word and step back hurriedly. For a second you stand with your hand on the door handle, watching him frozen still in the middle of the room, staring at the crystal the way you would stare at the blade that just went through your chest.

Despite all the horrors you’ve faced, this is what prompts you to flee the room. The Legion is one thing, but you draw the line at watching him cry.


End file.
